His tricks were being exposed.However, on Yu Bo"s face, the surprised or panicked expression they expected from him was absent.
He took a deep puff from his cigarette. His expression did not show the youthfulness his age should have. There was only silence and deliberation as he thought about the past.
His calmness and youthful face did not suggest that he looked at all like an evil person. Rather, he was like a child who had done something wrong…
Xiang Wan folded her arms and smiled at him. "Are you still considering how you would make up another story to deceive us?"
Yu Bo looked at her as he bit his lips. There was a hint of embarra.s.sment on his face as he realized all of his tricks had been exposed.
"Don"t be afraid."
Xiang Wan repeated this again.
"By telling us about it, you"re saving lives…"
"Saving lives…" Yu Bo stroked the surface of the sofa with his fingers subconsciously. He seemed helpless as he hesitated to speak the truth. "Why do I have to save them?"
Uh!
What a good question.
Xiang Wan took a deep breath. "We are human beings. We should have compa.s.sion for our fellowmen."
Yu Bo did not lift his head or answer her.
Xiang Wan saw the sweat on his forehead. She knew he was struggling inside. Instead of forcing him, she decided to change the direction of the conversation.
"Who knows, the ones you save might include your family."
"I don"t have any family." Yu Bo"s head hanged lower. "Mom"s already dead."
He did know that his mom was already dead? Earlier on, he told Xiang Wan his mom was waiting for him.
Xiang Wan heaved a sigh. "You still have one more family member. You don"t want him to die, right? Brother Steel… who is he to you? Is he your dad?"
Once again, she asked this question.
Yu Bo"s expression seemed downcast and somewhat strange.
He lifted his head slightly to look at Xiang Wan, as though he had a burning desire to explain something, but when he opened his mouth, nothing came out. His head drooped down again.
"I shouldn"t have such a father… He"s not my dad. My dad"s dead…"
He was incoherent.
This young man did seem to have some problems.
Otherwise, Brother Steel would not have locked him up in the bas.e.m.e.nt?
"If he"s not your dad," Xiang Wan looked at him. "Why did you seem like you don"t want him to die?"
Yu Bo mumbled, "He"s not, yet he is."
After that, in less than three seconds, he suddenly covered his face and laid his head on the table. He only looked up after quite a while.
"He"s my dad"s younger brother, as well as my biological father…"
His reply was too shocking!
Xiang Wan felt her heart being squeezed as she looked at Yu Bo"s dim, downcast face.
She got it now.
Yu Bo"s mom was married to Brother Steel"s elder brother.
However, Brother Steel was actually Yu Bo"s biological father.
In such a messy relations.h.i.+p, it was no doubt that this child deserved their pity.
Hence, Xiang Wan tried to be more careful in her words so as to not hurt him.
"Will you please tell us what you know? Where did they go? Did you send the pictures to other people? This is very important to us since we"re saving lives. Yu Bo… you"re a kind person, we all know that… It"s because you don"t want anyone to die. That"s why you posted this incident on the internet, am I right?"
"I didn"t want to. They will still die anyway. He wanted them dead."
Yu Bo seemed to be angered suddenly as he spoke in a loud voice.
Xiang Wan"s eyes seemed taken aback for an instant as she stared at his agitated eyes.
"You… when you took the first picture, Brother Steel caught you, didn"t he?"
Yu Bo was stunned.
This time, he looked at Xiang Wan as though he had seen a ghost.
He started to stammer. He seemed a little scared of her now.
"You… you even know about this?"
"Mm." Of course Xiang Wan would not tell him she had based this on deduction and logical reasoning. She thought it would be more beneficial if her shroud of mystery frightened him.
"So, Brother Steel took the picture away?"
Yu Bo took a look at her quietly as he calmed himself down slowly.
"He saw that and took my phone away… I had used another phone I found in the backyard to create that post on the internet…"
There were dead bodies in the backyard. Hence, those people must have carried their mobile phones with them.
What he said made sense.
Yu Bo had taken a picture, but Brother Steel took it away from him.
Whether Brother Steel had used that photo to threaten Xie Wanwan or he sent that photo to another person, they were unable to know.
Xiang Wan knew it was pointless to think about that, so she continued to question Yu Bo.
"What about those people? Where did they go? Tell me!"
She stared at Yu Bo expectantly.
"They…"
Yu Bo seemed a little scared.
He licked his dry lips gently as he looked at Xiang Wan apprehensively.
"They"re all dead."
…
No!
Someone gasped!
Xiang Wan couldn"t help but shudder.
After a few seconds, she asked in a calm manner, "Where are they?"
"They"re dead, already dead."
Yu Bo replied strangely.
"If a person"s already dead, their corpse will be there."
Xiang Wan"s eyes that were narrowed to a squint were burning.
No one knew the pain and fear in her heart.
No one knew how much Bai Muchuan meant to her—
Perhaps it was only that day that she really understood this.
She felt pain in her heart and her blood frozen. That pain reminded her that if she lost him, she would have no more happiness in her life.
Xiang Wan calmed herself down. "Yu Bo, you know very well that we have combed through the entire villa. We didn"t find them, not even their corpse. We don"t believe they"re dead."
"What"s wrong with being dead?" Yu Bo retorted with a question, seemingly provoked by her remark. "Why are all of you so afraid of death? Isn"t death salvation? My mom… she got relieved of the suffering."
"Your mother was relieved but she couldn"t accompany you anymore."
This time, Xiang Wan reb.u.t.ted him back coldly.
"She will no longer help you prepare your meals, or help out in your laundry. She won"t be waiting for you to go home either… Death means you"ve lost her forever. Tell me, what"s good about death?"
Death.
Death.
Yu Bo"s facial expression changed as her words pierced through his heart.
His brain felt muddled, and he was suffering from his own misery. He only knew that it hurt, and it still hurts a lot.
"They"ve disappeared, dead. They will die."
Disappeared.
Xiang Wan"s heart was beating furiously.
However, she told herself that she should keep a clear mind.
Yu Bo could not be considered a perfectly sane person.
As she needed to get something out of him, she would need to keep a clear and calm mind.
Otherwise, he could easily affect them.
"They disappeared together with Brother Steel?"
"… Yes." Yu Bo lifted his head. His gaze was meek and a little pitiable. At that moment, he was just like his black cat. He curled himself up and there was a deep fear on his face.
"They wanted to escape, so my uncle chased after them… then… they ran into that place, and disappeared."
"…"
In the end, it was back to square one.
"Where is that?"
"…" He did not talk, just gritting his teeth.
"How can all these people just disappear like that?"
"It"s not that they disappeared." Yu Bo shook his head, finally saying something normal.
However, immediately after, he shook his head. "They escaped to that place. Anyone who escaped to that place couldn"t step out of it alive…"
Xiang Wan continued to press him for an answer. "Tell me, where is that place!"
"…"
He lowered his head, unmoving and mute.
"Look at me, where is that place?"
"…"
"Yu Bo, I know you"re kind-hearted…"
"…"
"If you don"t talk, not only the good people will die… Brother Steel will die as well. He went in there with them, right?"
"He won"t!" Yu Bo seemed to have a habit of arguing when he heard something different from what he knew.
That was the reason why Xiang Wan needed to stay alert and had to keep guessing when she talked to him.
"If that place is really so horrifying, why wouldn"t he die? He will die too."
"He won"t!" Yu Bo"s gaze was firm. "He went in there before and came out safely!"
She finally got what he was saying.
There really was a place they had gone to.
In Yu Bo"s opinion, that place was dangerous. Nonetheless, Brother Steel went in there before and came out unharmed. Hence, Yu Bo felt that Brother Steel could also escape unscathed this time. Therefore, he was struggling if he should tell them about it.
"You"re leaving things to luck!" Xiang Wan gave a piercing glance at him. "As long as it"s a dangerous place, it could claim their lives anytime. Maybe it was pure luck that he was unharmed last time. This time, he might not be as lucky. Otherwise, well, it"s been hours now. Did you see him come out of that place yet?"
"…"
Yu Bo looked at her.
There was consternation in his eyes.
He was afraid visibly of her for this woman managed to guess his thoughts with the greatest of ease.
"Yu Bo, look at my eyes."
Xiang Wan"s voice sounded low and indifferent. She was so calm that it felt scary.
Yes, she also felt terrified when she heard herself.
This was so unlike her—she was not her normal self.
She was thinking that during these hours Bai Muchuan went missing… She almost went crazy too.
"Yu Bo, we"re the only ones that can save them. No, only you can."
"Me?"
"You don"t want them to die, right?"
Yu Bo looked at her for quite some time when he suddenly held his head.
"I lied. How serious of an offense is that?"
He"s actually worried about this, she thought.
Xiang Wan raised an eyebrow.
"If you didn"t kill anyone, didn"t involved yourself in drugs, didn"t do any bad things… and only told a lie, then the judge will not throw you into prison…"
A faint glimmer of light flashed past Yu Bo"s eyes. As though he was trying to ascertain her words, he kept his eyes on Xiang Wan.
"I"m a good person?"
"Yes."
"The son of a drug dealer is also a good person?"
"… Of course."
Yu Bo let out a whimper.
"They entered Vulture"s Mouth—we call it, the mouth of the vulture."
…